Blaising Colours
by SingularityStar
Summary: Five year old Blaise Zabini opened his gift with reverence.  He had never imagined anything so wonderful.  Sixty-four crayons, all perfectly sharpened.  He gazed at the assortment of colours in awe.  More colours than he ever realized could exist.


Five year old Blaise Zabini opened his gift with reverence. He had never imagined anything so wonderful. Sixty-four crayons, all perfectly sharpened. He gazed at the assortment of crayons in awe. There were more colours than he ever realized could exist.

"Thank you, Nanny!" he cried, as he hugged her enthusiastically around the neck. "This is the best present ever!"

His nanny smiled back at him and ruffled his hair. "You're very welcome, Blaise. Now, are you going to just sit there and look at them, or are you going to use them?"

Blaise turned his attention back to the box and ran his fingers gingerly over the crayons, thinking of what he could create. It had to be something special. His face grew into a grin. He was going to draw a picture for his mother. But it wasn't going to just be any picture. It was going to be the best picture ever, and he was going to use every one of his brand new colours.

Blaise set to work, diligently using each colour and then placing it back gently in its place. As he worked, he thought about his mother. He hadn't seen much of her lately, ever since his father had died a few months ago. Each night, he would see her for a brief period before she would head out for the night. A series of parties, dinners, and events keeping her constantly out of the house, while Blaise continued to rack his young brain for reasons to make her stay in.

He had tried pretending to be ill, but that just ended up with him being forced to drink a foul tasting potion. He had hidden, but was easily found with a spell. Once, he had even thrown a tantrum. That had been the worst. His mother had grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to his feet. "That is no way for a son of mine to be acting," she had scolded. "I don't care how upset you are. You don't show it. You must learn to mask your emotions. To not do so is weakness, and I will not have a weak son." With that, she had released him and strode out the door without so much as a backwards glance.

Tonight would be different. Blaise knew that when she saw how beautiful his drawing was, she would stay with him for the evening. When she realized how much effort he had put forth, she would finally love him.

As he was putting the finishing touches onto his drawing, his nanny came back into the room. "Your mother is about to leave, Blaise. Run and tell her goodnight."

Blaise threw the crayon he was holding back onto the table, not even taking the time to place it carefully back into its box. "Mum! I made you a present!" he called out as he approached the entrance hall.

"I've asked you not to yell in the house. Now what is it, Blaise, dear? Mummy's in a hurry. Could you show me later?"

Blaise's face fell and his lower lip began to tremble.

His mother sighed loudly. "None of that, Blaise. Fine, show me quickly."

A grin spread across his face as he held his drawing up proudly. "See, Mum! I made you a picture. That's you, and that's me, and we're at the park having a picnic! Nanny brought me a new box of crayons today and I used all the colours! Isn't it pretty, Mum?"

"It's fine, Blaise," his mother replied with disinterest. "But maybe next time you should stick to only a few colours. It really is a bit much. See how my dress is entirely this lovely shade of green? All one colour, and isn't it beautiful. You have a lot to learn about beauty, darling."

Once again, Blaise felt his lip begin to tremble. He tried to stop the tears, but he couldn't. He had worked so hard on that drawing, been so convinced that his mother would love it, but she didn't.

"What did I tell you about crying?" His mother sighed and turned to the nanny. "He's hopeless, really." She checked her delicate silver watch and sighed again. "I suppose I could be a touch more than fashionably late just this once, if you promise to stop that crying."

Blaise nodded vigorously, wiping his eyes and struggling to control his tears. With yet another sigh, his mother took a seat at the table and pulled his box of crayons toward her. "We'll start with just the basics for right now, shall we?" She selected six crayons from the box and began to draw a rudimentary circle. "Here is a simple colour wheel for you. The colours that are across from each other are called 'complementary'. That means they go well together. The way this lovely necklace perfectly complements the neckline of my gown. So for now, when you draw, focus on using reds and greens, or yellows and violets, or blues and oranges, but not all of the above. Understand?"

Blaise nodded at her in awe, watching as she connected the colours with thick black lines as she spoke.

"One more thing, dear, green also goes wonderfully with silver, but be sure to keep gold far away from red. It's a terrible combination. The most important thing to remember is to focus on beauty, Blaise. It will get you everywhere." She checked her watch once again and rose to her feet. "Now, I really must be going, darling."

Blaise scrambled out of his chair and attempted to give her a hug.

"Not tonight, Blaise. You'll muss my dress, and we can't have that." She patted him delicately on the head, and quickly left the house.

Blaise could feel the tears beginning to well up behind his eyes once again, but this time, he was successful in holding them back. His drawing hadn't stopped his mother from leaving, but it had delayed her, at least for a moment. Maybe, with practice, he could delay her for longer periods. If he focused on beauty, it just might be enough to get him what he wanted.


End file.
